Best Winter Cycling Shoes and Boots

Shimano MW80

4 / 4

A 12-degree ride wearing nothing on your feet but wimpy shoe covers over your cleats will lead to frozen toes every time. Shimano’s MW 80 can save you from this pain—for a relatively small price.

A Gore-Tex liner provides warmth and a PU-coated neoprene body protects your feet from water. Further protection comes from the tight-fitting ankle strap, which seals out water, debris and drafts. The offset hook-and-loop fasteners hold snugly and grip tightly, which sometimes makes putting the shoes on a little tough.

But the extra 15 seconds needed to close the boots were worth it: Our toes were comfortable on even long rides in the cold. My boots were a size larger than is normal for me, which left plenty of room for an extra pair of socks and a little insulating air space. Reflective material along the heel and sides makes you more visible in low light or snow squalls. The MW80 provides more insulation under the foot, an area where traditional shoes with covers have trouble protecting from the cold, and the thick treads gave us great traction through slush and snow when walking our bikes to and from the road or trail.

The shoes are only compatible with four-bolt, SPD-style cleats, so you’ll need to switch pedals to use these boots while riding your road bike. The GORE-TEX and neoprene materials provided a little wimpy in the face of cold headwinds when the temperature dropped below freezing. This is less of a problem off-road, but limits its road use in the coldest climates.—Matt Allyn and Christine Bucher